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A (very) modest proposal

Blogger Jeff Spiers gives a nod to Jonathan Swift in his satire of health care reform.

By Jeffrey Spiers | Updated on November 17, 2009

The subject of providing insurance coverage to the uninsured is a melancholy one. How in the world does the wealthiest nation on Earth have nearly 50 million uninsured people? The sheer number of uninsured is compounded exponentially by the number of politicians, PACs, lobbyists and issue-driven organizations taking in donations and producing nothing of intrinsic or lasting value. On the one hand, we have the poorest Americans in desperate need and want. They risk everything they own just to walk into a hospital to seek care. On the other hand, we have literally thousands (or more!) in the ranks of the political class seeking financial support to print yard signs, billboards and television attack ads ad infinitum. What’s more is the forgone conclusion of the corrupting influence of these sums of money. We endure both of these blights for unknown, torturous reasons. Take a look around – everywhere a politician or a fellow uninsured citizen, each with his or her hand out.

We can all agree that this prodigious number of uninsured among the general population and politicians at the federal, state and local levels of government with their corresponding lobbyists, PACs, and other organizations seeking financial contributions regardless of political party affiliation, are a significant contributor to the current state of national grievance. It is therefore noted that whosoever would propose a system to reduce both the number of the uninsureds while simultaneously minimizing the flow of money into politics would do the nation a valuable service; so valuable, in fact, that a statue would most certainly be set up in his or her honor as a preserver of the nation.

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